The present invention relates to a nozzle and more particularly to a nozzle for inflatable objects.
For inflation with a conventional nozzle, such as that shown in FIG. 1, it is necessary to grip the nozzle seat (41) of the nozzle (4) firmly with one hand in order to squeeze the air inlet (42) and then open a seam (43) to form an air passage, while the other hand is operating a pump, or while the nozzle is blown manually. The inflation is indeed very inconvenient. Similarly, it is necessary to squeeze the air inlet (42) to open the seam (43), or to insert a long stick into the air inlet to keep the seam (43) opening for deflation. Prolonged opening of the seam (43) will result in elastic fatigue, and consequently the nozzle will become out of order.
When another kind of conventional nozzle, a nozzle (5) with a long tail (51) as shown in FIG. 2 is used, the inflation process which is exactly like that with the nozzle shown in FIG. 1, is very inconvenient. For deflation, the long tail (51) is inserted into the air inlet (52) to keep the seam (53) opening. Such kind of nozzle has the following defects: (a) because inflatable objects are mostly made of soft PVC, the strength of the long tail (51) is not sufficient to keep the seam (53) opening for the seam (53) itself is a cutting at the cylindrical body of the air inlet (52) and the cutting is usually very small; (b) the long tail (51) does not have aid to keep retaining in the seam (53), air pressure may blow it away, and it is then necessary to insert another long stick to keep the seam (53) opening; (c) a considerable length of the long tail (51) is needed to open the seam (53), but the longer the long tail (51), the smaller its strength, simply because it is made of soft PVC; and (d) prolonged opening of the seal (53) will result in elastic fatigue, and consequently the tightly closing of the nozzle can't be resumed.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,831 discloses a nozzle for inflatable objects, including a nozzle seat (10), an annular wall (11) extended on the top of the nozzle seat (10) to define an air inlet (12), a plug (20) for insertion into the air inlet (12), a plug arm (21) connecting to the plug (20), and an one-way membrane (40) beneath the air inlet (12). It is characterized by the design of a plug extension (22) with two holes (23) extended from the plug (20) at a position remote from the plug arm (21) for engagement with a tie (30), and the design of the one-way membrane (40) extended from the inner wall of the nozzle seat (10) to seal the air inlet (12). The tie (30) has a knob (31) at its end to help positioning of the plug (20) in place, and has a serrated lower surface (32) to prevent the tie (30) from slipping back after passing through the holes (23). The one-way membrane (40) beneath the air inlet (12) serves as a check valve during inflation, and can be pushed away to open the air inlet (12) for deflation simply by retracting the nozzle. Though the nozzle can provide satisfactory safety to inflatable objects such as swimming ring and air boat, retraction of the nozzle may detach the one-way membrane from the sealing position, and then accidental shock to the inflatable object may remove the plug (20) from the air inlet (12) and result in unwanted deflation.